Pubdate: Tue, 24 Aug 2004 Source: Tullahoma News (TN) Copyright: The Tullahoma News 2004 Contact: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=49033&BRD=1614&PAG=461&dept_id=161070& Website: http://www.tullahomanews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2031 Author: Brian Justice, The Tullahoma News Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) CITY ORDINANCES SPEED UP PROCESS IN COMBATING METH While the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse is making statewide recommendations to combat the illegal substance, the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen has enacted two separate ordinances geared to speed up the process at the local level. The board approved the second and final readings 6-0 Monday of the ordinances - one to regulate the display, sale and delivery of cold medicines ephedrine, pseudoephrine and phenylopropanolamine and the other to condemn property used for meth production until proper cleanup measures are taken. Alderman Troy Bisby had recently asked the board to consider adopting the two ordinances that he deems would strengthen the city's control over meth-related issues. He had presented the board with two drafts - one regarding meth lab clean-up issues and the other focusing on regulating sales of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenolylpropanolamine. The drug lab ordinance will require that property owners be responsible for site clean-up costs. Bisby had said property owners as landlords would take a more active interest in whether they rent to meth producers, and the landlords would also be more aware about debris from illegal labs being on their property. The other ordinance will regulate amounts of the cold medicine products sold and require purchasers to show identification and sign documents when they buy them. Quantity restrictions involve sales of no more than 100 tablets per customer of any products containing any of the three cold medicines. Purchasers will also be required to register: * The specific quantity they bought. * Their names though a proper signature. * Driver's license numbers or other official identification information. * Purchase dates. Clerks who sell the medicine will also be required to sign or initial the purchase documents. Mayor Steve Cope, who was not present at Monday's meeting, had said recently that the city could run into problems by adopting such ordinances when their full scope has not been determined by the state government. Cope, a Governor's Task Force member, had said the state is attempting to answer pending questions through recommendations from the Governor's Task Force on Methamphetamine Abuse. Cope had said enacting ordinances where state law regarding such issues is unclear could make it tough for Tullahoma to enforce the measures. Meanwhile, the Governor's Task Force delivered on Friday recommendations to found Gov. Phil Bredesen's strategy to address the methamphetamine epidemic in Tennessee. A press release from the governor's office says that in all, the Task Force delivered about three dozen detailed recommendations as part of a preliminary plan to attack methamphetamine abuse. Highlights involve: * Increasing funding for methamphetamine treatment with an eye toward long-term initiatives. * Educating communities about the dangers of methamphetamine abuse. * Creating new penalties and strengthening existing penalties for methamphetamine-related crimes. * Committing resources to help children harmed by methamphetamine manufacturing and abuse. * Limiting the availability of pre-cursor materials used to illegally manufacture methamphetamine. * Addressing contamination caused by clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. * Improving coordination between federal, state and local stakeholders. Bredesen said in the press release that the Task Force's recommendations represent a "sensible approach" that lays out a meaningful plan for attacking the meth problem. He asked the panel to continue meeting periodically in order to make additional recommendations, as needed. "We're not going to solve Tennessee's methamphetamine problem overnight," Bredesen said. "But I believe this Task Force has put together a realistic set of ideas that will put some teeth in the state's ability to deal with this insidious drug." - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake